Archery Deer Hunt

October 18 - December 31, 2014(No hunting Oct 25-26)

Welcome to Saint John's for the 13th controlled deer hunt since 1933.

Saint John's Abbey's intent is to reduce the deer population to a level that allows natural regeneration of the forest ecosystem that is essential to the long-term habitat of deer and other components of the ecosystem. Harvesting primarily antlerless deer is the best method for controlling the deer population.

Archery hunting will be the only option in 2014. Archery hunting allows Saint John's to extend the season, avoid conflicts with other campus events (hikers, football games, etc.), allows more hunters to participate, allows hunting closer to campus, and reduces the need for security personnel.

This is not a MN DNR special hunt; hunters must bring and use their own MN DNR archery license. All hunters must follow the Minnesota State Big Game Laws.

The Abbey Arboretum is within the boundaries of the Collegeville State Game Refuge (established in 1933) and special hunting rules can apply to hunting on the refuge. Due to refuge status, all wildlife species other than deer (including coyote) are protected and may not be taken.

As we are a college campus, hunters must be flexible in respecting campus events during the hunt. Any non-hunters who intentionally or otherwise needlessly disrupt hunting as determined by Saint John's will be asked to leave. The same is true for any hunters who disrupt campus events.

This is a walk-in hunt. Passenger vehicles may be used only on specified dates to carry stands/ground blinds closer to hunting districts and to retrieve harvested deer with Life Safety notification and approval. Parking will be allowed in several designated parking locations throughout the hunt (see map).

The 2014 hunt will be reassessed once 55 deer are taken. If Saint John's decides to end the hunt at that point, hunters who have not yet taken a deer will not be able to continue hunting at Saint John's this season.

Eligibility

All hunters must have a valid MN DNR archery license and must be able to take an antlerless deer in a zone covering Saint John's (218 south of I-94, 215 north of I-94).

Approx. 100 hunters will be allowed to hunt. A lottery will be used to select hunters who apply before Aug 5.

Only hunters with valid Saint John's Abbey hunting permits are allowed to hunt in the Abbey Arboretum. Permits are non-transferable.

Party hunting is allowed within the rules set by MN DNR for party hunting. Parties may consist of 2-4 people. Each party has only one chance of being drawn, regardless of how many archers there are in a party. All group members will be selected to hunt if the group is chosen and given consecutive lottery numbers.

Youth less than 18 years old may hunt if they have both a valid DNR license and a qualified adult supervisor. The adult supervisor must also possess a valid license or have completed a MN DNR education/safety course, but is not required to hunt, and must remain in very close proximity (<50 feet) of the youth at all times. Both the youth and the adult supervisor must complete their applications as a party. There must be one adult supervisor over 21 assigned to each youth under 18.

1+ Points: Applicants will receive 1 point for each previous year they applied in which they were NOT SELECTED to hunt.

1+ Points: Hunters will receive 1 point for each antlerless deer taken in the Abbey Arboretum the previous season (awarded to whoever tagged the deer).

Party Hunters: For the purpose of the lottery, the party will be assigned a score equal to the average number of points within the party(Example: A party of four hunters with individual scores of 3, 2, 1, and 0 will have an average score of 1.5 to be used in the lottery).

Bow Hunter Education

As of late 2013 the MN DNR Bow Hunter Education course is available entirely online. There are two options available to hunters interested in obtaining this certificate:

Individuals can complete the 10-hour in-classroom MN DNR bow hunter education course and pass the final exam. A $5 to $10 fee is collected by the instructor. Check for upcoming class listings.

Individuals can complete the online course. Participants pay a $30 course fee when they pass the online exam with an unlimited number of tries to pass. Once completed, they print out their certificate of completion. Those who have completed the online course are then eligible to attend an optional 4-hour Bow Hunter Education Field Day (an additional $5-$10 fee). Check for upcoming class listings.

Each hunter may have up to 2 stands or ground blinds. Review the Deer Hunt Map to see districts and number of hunters per district.

Hunters will select their top three choices for districts for 1 or 2 stands on the initial Hunting Application (see sidebar).

A limited number of hunters will be assigned to each district to avoid too many hunters in a district.

When party hunting, each member of the party will choose their own hunting district which may or may not be the same as others in the party.

Hunters may change districts during the season to any district that is not currently full.

Earn-A-Buck

Individual hunters may earn the right to take a buck in future years after they harvest 3 antlerless deer. Parties who successfully take 3 antlerless deer from Saint John's will earn the opportunity to take a buck in the current or future hunts. Saint John's will keep a record and the opportunity rolls forward. Review the 2014 Abbey Arboretum Hunting Rules for more details.

2013 Deer Hunt Statistics

Archery hunting was allowed from Saturday, October 26 through December 31, 2013.

563 applicants applied by the August 4, 2013 deadline.

108 hunters were selected to hunt. About 100 of those hunters went afield at least once.

We thank hunters for your cooperation and interest in conservation to help assure us a healthy, balanced ecosystem. We have heard many positive comments from hunters about the hunt and the land. We also thank those of you who have become members of Saint John's Outdoor University, which provides environmental education and works with the Abbey to keep the Abbey Arboretum in good condition. All donations are tax-deductible.